By Ali Hope and Joy Alinta

Ahead of the 21^st Convocation Ceremony of ESUT slated to hold on Saturday, November 22, 2025, ESUT Monitor has today commenced the publication of the Best Graduating Students from Faculties.

Our first publication is from the Faculty of Physical Sciences where Juliet Omeche emerged the Best Graduating Student for the 2023/2024 academic year

Miss Omeche in this exclusive interview detailed her academic journey in the Department of Geology and Mining at ESUT, How she became the second First-Class graduate of the department since inception and the challenges within.

Excerpts

First and foremost, tell us your full name?

My name is Juliet Omeche. I’m from Udi Local Government Area in Enugu State.

You graduated from ESUT?

I graduated from the Department of Geology and Mining, from the Faculty of Physical Sciences, in the year 2024.

Why Geology and Mining?

To be honest, I applied for Medicine and Surgery. I’ve always wanted to read Medicine and Surgery. But admission was not forthcoming. I applied two times, I didn’t get Medicine and Surgery.

 So, I remember in my secondary school, I always said, if I don’t get into the medical sector, then I would also want to try the Oil and Gas industry. But Geology came trhough because, at that time, I didn’t write Mathematics in my JAMB, so I could not apply for engineering courses. And it was easier to get into Geology at the time, I applied and got the admission.

After your four-year programme, you come out as the best graduating student from your faculty. Did you plan for it?

Yes, I did. Getting into Geology and Mining in Year 1, during the orientation, the lecturers and professors mentioned that they do not or they don’t usually have First Class graduates from the department.

Since the inception of Geology, it’s was only one person who had First Class.

It was more of a challenge to me, I wanted to break that jinx so they don’t say that to the next orientation set or batch and

 I did, worked towards it, planned for it and I got it.

How did you go about your academic activities?

I wouldn’t say I am a bookworm type of person because, all through my days in the university, I never attended a night class.

My strategy was I always to attend all my classes. I never missed a class.

That way, I get to hear directly from the lecturer and get to understand what each course is about. Then after every lecture, I go back home and read to understand. The next step I do is to, tutor my coursemates, because they normally come to me for assistance and to teach them. Doing that, I get mastered to the courses and everything about them.

It was easier for me to pass my exams that way and to excel in the courses. The target was never to get a ‘B’ in my results. It was ‘A’ ahead.

 Anytime I get a ‘B’, I would go back to the lecturer to understand why I couldn’t get that particular question or why I couldn’t understand that course. After their explanations, I would go back to read to understand better. That was my strategy. I attend classes, I read to understand after every lecture, and I also tutor my other coursemates.

Also, my reading schedule was from evening till dusk. I read from 7:00pm to 12:00 Midnight.

I also prioritize my sleep as much as I prioritize my reading schedule, my my academic life. There was always a balance, I tried to balance between the two, so that one does not suffer.

In other words, you considered ‘B’ grade as a failure?

I don’t consider ‘B’ as a failure. But, to me, I have always wanted to be an ‘A’ student. Anything short of ‘A’ to me is a failure, but in general terms, I don’t consider ‘B’ a failure.

How was it like navigating the school for the four years you were in Geology and Mining?

It was quite easy. I made a lot of friends that walk around. Like I said, I wasn’t the bookworm type of a person that’s always inside reading. I moved around, I had social life. It was quite easy to navigate around ESUT, from park to, as far as the EDC complex, I was able to get there. In fact, I don’t think there is any corner of ESUT that I didn’t go past. It was really easy.

Would you Consider teaching as a career if offered?

For now, I want to actually pursue a career in the Oil and Gas industry.

And if tutoring in ESUT or maybe lecturing in any other higher institution comes, it can be a side thing, I don’t mind.

Where is Juliet Omeche currently?

I’m in Lagos, working in an oil and gas drilling firm as a Business Development Executive.

Still undergoing my National Youth Service Corps one year programme. I will be through in December

Your initial plan was to be a medical person.

Yeah, to become a medical doctor,

Now you’ve become a Geologist.

Yes.

Do your regret not being a medical doctor

I don’t regret it. I feel I’m in a better space right now.

Where will Omeje Juliet be in the next five years?

In the next five years, I see myself as a Geoscientist in one of the IOCs, that’s the International Oil Companies. I am also working towards that by taking courses in seismic interpretation and reservoir modelling. That way, I can streamline my career path into becoming a Geoscientist in the IOCs.

Which of the lecturers in your department would you miss very much? And why?

I would miss Dr. Chineye Onyeabor. Because she was more of a mentor to me. Even though she can be a handful I mean, when she wants something, she must get it. If she fixes lectures, you must be there on time. 

Most of my coursemates didn’t really like that. It really didn’t sit well with them. But I think it was more of a training. Through Dr. Onyeabor I got to understand LinkedIn and how it works. And that was towards my graduation. Because of her, I was able to explore LinkedIn. And that was how I got a job even before the end of my service year. So I’ll say I’d miss her a lot.

What did you do in LinkedIn that was able to offer you that opportunity?

I think it was my profile optimization. I positioned myself well through my profile. So the recruiters reached out to me by merely looking at my profile, and they put me up for recruitment exercise and interviews, aptitude test, and I was able to scale through.

What is your advice to students who aspire to attain your feat?

My advice to these people is one, believe in yourself. Because for me, I believed in myself that I could break that jinx. I went ahead, lecturers said there’d been no First-Class, just one, in Geology and Mining. I thought about it, and I believed that I could do it.

Secondly. I would advise that they be consistent in whatever they’re doing. There is no particular strategy to making First-Class. I would not say this is a particular way you should study or not. If you find yourself studying in whatever way you feel it’s right for you, be consistent because consistency pays at the end of the time.

Then, another advice I’ll give to them is to practice effective time management, because it helps. You don’t delay one or make one suffer. Practice effective time management, create a study schedule. And then, you make sure to rest.

Find time to network with people, have a social life. In as much as you want to be the best graduating student or a first-class graduate, have social life because it would help. And have your rest time, your sleep time, and bedtime. Make sure to rest, prioritize your rest and your study. I would also advise that they seek help when needed. If you don’t understand a particular course, or topic in a course, seek help from maybe a coursemates or the lecturer.

What is Juliet Omeche’s hobby?

My hobby is traveling. I love to travel. I like exposure, so I will select more of places I’ve not been to before. I also love to research. Right now, I have a journal.

You know, it was my project that I researched on and my lecturers and external supervisor found it interesting, and then they asked that I publish it.